


Searching for Expansion

by ridoma (Diminuendo)



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Badgirl!riko???, F/F, okay just. Gruff riko okay????
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-03
Updated: 2016-01-03
Packaged: 2018-05-11 09:36:25
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,216
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5622583
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Diminuendo/pseuds/ridoma
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Her heart starts beating a bit faster when a stranger walks through those sliding doors with muddy boots and a motorcycle parked outside.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Searching for Expansion

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Siduki](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Siduki/gifts).



****

When she saw her, it was like discovering stars for the first time. Her skin was tanned, all around, just a bit more from the shoulders and a bit less from the stomach. Her hair was short. Just drifting above her shoulders, matching the colour of her slightly deeper eyes. Momoi also took notice of that fact she was skinny; the girl's hip bones stuck out quite impressively and she could see the bones along her thumb. What stuck out the most was the girl's dark jacket, the motor cycle parked in the front and the scar down her thumb.

She grabbed two bags of chips, threw them at Momoi lazily and added a few bills to the pile without glancing away from her bright phone screen. The girl knawed down on her bottom lip and pressed all her weight down on one side, bending her left knee to properly support herself.

The girl, by all means, was a stranger. She probably was going to travel into the long winding distance and never would return. She never even second glanced Satsuki and when she looked up to accept her change, her mouth kept in a straight, tight pink line. As plain and rude as she was Satsuki couldn't help but feel the urge to also want ride away with her, smoke dancing behind her to signify her leave.

Maybe it was the fact that all she did was stare outside, through smudged plastic windows and count change. But her fingers couldn't help but tightening around the wad of cash, crumpling them even more. She pursed her pink lips, opted to talk but emptiness fell out. Instead, she gave the coins, cold in her sweaty palms and gently savoured the moments the girl's fingers, like long icicles, swiped across Satsuki's palms to accept the change.

She grabbed the bags of chips in a quick swipe, causing Satsuki to jump back, and held them in a sloppy fist. Her dirty boots left tracks and smeared grass on the ground and her gait was way too confident for someone who can't even keep their shoes clean. She left as soon as her motorcycle pierced through the silence of the neighbourhood and zoomed into the navy of the night sky.

When Momoi stepped outside to leave the store, she gazed at the never ending road and did a soft sigh. Her fingers, covered by mittens with broken yarn strands, clutched the key between her thumb and forefinger, drove it into the lock and did a rough twist. Momoi regained herself and stared at the palms of her hands, closed her fingers into a weak fist and opened her hands again. She decided on this, she chose this and she can live with it.

* * *

 

The girl came again, her motorcycle painted, drowning everything behind her in pollution. This time she was side by side with a man, tall with short, spikey black hair and the most grandfather like glasses she had ever seen. Round, with thick plastic pieces held together by a bright silver tape, clashing against himself as a whole. He quickly got off and waved a hand at the girl's barking as dismissal. As soon as he stepped inside, his carefree walk was interrupted right when he looked at Momoi.

The man's face turned a bright red and he took a step back—to run away, perhaps. But he regained himself and walked forward, his face turning back to it's original skin colour. Momoi observed that the man was clenching or grinding his teeth in an attempt to keep his jaw tight. She kept watching, not daring to move her head, using her eyes only and saw how he grabbed pack of spicy mint gum. He clutched it and pressed it down to the counter, avoiding eye contact.

Momoi did a pert smile and gently took the gum. She slowly scanned it, read the price out loud and gestured to the gum pack. Right when the guy looked away, with the same poker face, she pushed her chest forward and shoulders back. This time, she leaned in to accept the change, instead of waiting for the man to place it. Momoi's calculations were accurate once again and his jaw went slack. He quickly pushed his sunglasses up and turned on his heel and walked away.

His shoes were just as dirty, Momoi noticed, as the man walked back to the girl.

The girl seemed to get angered by the man and what he presented. She yelled at him, her body moving to convey her total emotion. He tried talking back, he even tried excusing the redness of his face, from what his hand gestures seemed like. Yet in the end, he could only recoil as the girl met him nose to nose and flinch when she began smashing her feet on the ground as she made her way back to the store. When she walked inside, she met Satsuki's eyes, looked down and shook her head. Her physical language suggested she had her money in her in vest pocket.

Then like, last time, she turned the corner, grabbed the bag of chips, walked to Satsuki and dropped them with bare teeth. This time, she let Satsuki carefully charge the bag of chips, say the amount and then handed the cash. This time, also, when she pivoted her heel, she turned to the side and leaned back, making a piercing eye contact.

"Hey," she said to earn Satsuki's attention and awareness, "Sorry 'bout the dumbass outside. He was too preoccupied with his dick and mistook you for a stripper—again, his fault, not yours." Her voice wasn't as scratchy and her eyes relaxed a bit, her lips dipping down in an attempt to make the atmosphere more comfortable. "Momoi-san." The girl gained distance by leaning forward and gently swiped the bags.

Momoi gave her a soft smile and giggled, "It's okay, I'm used to it." She pressed her lips into a wider smile, making sure to avoid grinning, "If you don't mind, what's your name, stranger-san?"

The girl in front of Momoi quickly hesitated, she narrowed her eyes to pinpoint directy into the centre of Momoi's pupils, trying to break the cute smile apart. "Well," she said, her tongue sliding across saliva coated teeth, "Suzuki Sakura. Nice to meet you." The girl looked down and up, just with those fixated eyes and stuck her bare hands out.

Satsuki, doing an inner cheer at keeping the cheerful expression, not breaking under Riko's judgemental one, stuck out her fingers. Riko's fingers were skinny, pale and cold, a perfect opposite Satsuki's and enveloped her hand the way a spider would trap a bug. Their hands lingered in the air for a moment when Satsuki did a small shake and pulled back, a petit grin on her face. "Well, Suzuki-san, I'll be looking forward to your next visit."

"Yeah," Suzuki said, her acknowledgement empty, with the way her eyes lost shine. "I might just see ya'."

With a soft giggle, Momoi waved the pack of gum at her and leaned foward to insert it into her vest pocket. Suzuki seemed fine with the close contact and without leaving gaze, she turned and walked away.

Satsuki lifted on to her toes to see what the man was doing. She giggled as she saw him look at Suzuki with judgemental expression, earning a thwart on his stone of a head. She pressed her weight back to the heels of her foot, raised her shoulder in slight victory and giggled. This life didn't have to be that bad.

* * *

 

Her legs took ineffective strides, the momentum gained quickly channeling out of her due to a strip of ice gliding along the sidewalk in front of her. She huffed, her breath highlighted by frost and waddled in the most childish way across the ice. As soon as her feet touched unfrozen ground, she broke out in a sprint again. The adrenaline forced her body into a reckless sprint and ignored the burning of her scalp and resistance of her winter clothing. She felt her eyes watering as they tried combatting the lashes of cold against her exposed eyes.

As she was in the middle of the sprint—right leg forward, left leg back—she stamped down on her left and twisted her foot to stop the momentum of being forward. She let out a heavy breath as she saw Suzuki's (Satsuki didn't understand why the girl decided to lie, her morality combatted against her intelligence anyways) motorcycle— a 2010 Yamaha SR400, spray painted in dark green—and decided to slow down.

Momoi widening her eyes when she saw the yellow, artificial lights of the store gently brimming. Did this Suzuki chick break in—? With a huff for bravery, Satsuki turned the corner and entered the store, pink eyes clutched tight.

"Satsuki," a monotonous voice called, "How late you are."

Yagumi Kiyorko is bony, small and pale. She has thick shoulder-length hair, a small freckle below her lip, square teeth and ripped nails. Her bony body and heartless attitude often clashed Satsuki's, enough to the point where loneliness was the only thing that strung them together. Yet, Satsuki could see that despite them being from the other side of the world, they had one thing in common: their slyness—their sensitivity to body movement and their analytical skills. If Yagumi were a manager of one of the basketball teams way back, she would've been a pain in the ass. But starting from today, it seemed that they had another thing in common: she was playing cashier for a store that Satsuki routinely had to.

Her big eyes looked at Satsuki, black enough to absord light, "Kagura asked me to open up. So far, I have made a total of 4350 yen. In this recent time, I have sold—"

"—Aha, thank, thank you! Yagumi-chan, do you mind telling me who called you?"

"Kagura, as I previously stated. She called me an intimate acquaintance of yours and promised to pay me. I rejected the offer and decided to lend help. Of course," her cold voice stopped for a moment, a habit Satsuki knew too well of, "I expect a favour in return. Oh. Don't raise your eyebrows in such a way, it's fairly simple."

Suzuki did a low whistle and Satsuki felt like she just burnt her tongue. Yagumi was known for having the same amazing talent as Satsuki. She had no shame in using it to her advantage and by the way she glanced between Satsuki and Suzuki, Satsuki knew she had to watch her back.

With a flutter of her lashes, Satsuki put a hand on her hip, "Oh silly me, I just had to take the time to fix the computer. Well, I'm sorry Yagumi-chan, why don't we switch positions now?"

"No, I wish to extract this time and use it to expand upon the factors in my favour. Why don't you help this woman? She was smart enough to notice your lack of presence and asked questions. Two, in fact."

Suzuki slammed her fist down at the counter and then leaned forward—Kiyorko made no attempt to flinch—"Hey, enough with the details, yeah?"  
  
Kiyorko, without a turn of her head, stared at Suzuki and everything went silent. Her stony eyes glanced up at Suzuki, as if she was trying to absorb her with her eyes alone. With a small step back, the heels of her dress shoes making a sound, she placed her hands on the counter and began raising on her toes. Her body slithered along the counter, stopping when reached her highest and her bony collarbones exposed themselves. "This," she whispered to Suzuki, "Is an opportune time to exploit your sexual interest with that peach over there. If I hear anyone's disgustingly high pitched voice again, my ears will bleed and the birds will decide to form a rivalry. Take your shitty interpretation of Bosozoku, ride around until you reach a forest and have sex on a branch." Lowering herself back down, she spread her lips thin, curled the ends and presented ugly teeth, "Good day."

Suzuki scrapped her teeth across her bottom lip and forced her hand by her side. "I'll be takin' two chocolate bars then."  


* * *

 

"Sorry about her," Momoi shouted, holding Suzuki desperately, "She's a bit too assertive for her own good!" Her hair was spilling out of her helmet, being pulled back by the wind. Satsuki's hands were tight around Suzuki's waist and she could feel her legs flexing out of fear of leaning to the side. "Suzu-chan?" Seeing the motorcycle light cut so thinly at the darkness made Satsuki's heart beat a bit faster.

"Yeah, yeah, I understood! The girl was really skinny too, would've snapped that cute wrist in two seconds! We're going to the park, d'ya mind?" She peered back, grinned and then looked forward, "Aida Riko, by the way!"

"Momoi Satsuki." Her cheeks turned a bright pink and with happiness, she snuggled Aida, rubbing her face in the soft material of her jacket. She hoped the girl—Aida-chan—wasn't talking with a mask this time. If she were smart, she'd know the only blade that Satsuki held was sheathed and tucked away in her memories. Aida could snap her wrist bones too, without hesitation by the way she's presented herself.

"So, I'm taking you to park. You don't have any objections, do you? I'm not wasting gas when I don't need to, you know!"

Well, how generous, Satsuki thought. This girl really has a trust complex or just a giant selfishness. Luckily, she has experience with both so maybe, if Aida could just show a good side (besides her amazingly muscled abdominals) she would rewind an old movie and sit back once again. "No." She narrowed her eyes against Aida's back, pressing her eyelashes into it, letting a stream of air out of her nose. Was she really going to repeat history again?

Silence quickly devoured them and the curtains of the night sky began to slowly open. The ride was short—wasn't short enough to ignore the whips of cold wind—but enough to stimulate the cells in her brain. Weigh her options, let her regret the choice and then reprimend herself for being so needy the past few weeks. Momoi ached for adventure and company besides the shadow of Kiyorko. Yet, what happened to her, everyone, when basketball had spirit? Could she she get dragged in world of weed, platinum cars and bullet proof windows? There, what could she do? It's dangerous, stupid and dumb to make promises about danger and have them broken when she slowly begins to feel weak.

The bench beneath her suddenly felt cold and wet. What if the only she comfort she had was the ember in Riko's lit cigarette?

Riko shifted her weight away from Momoi and slumped in the bench. "Chill. I'm not going to drug ya', fuck you right up and sell your skull as fake ivory. It's hard being surrounded by idiots for me too."

"Aida-chan," Satsuki spoke with uncertainty, "You know, who are you?" Her voice cracked, her waterline slowly flooded and she began stretching her small fingers back. "You're really mysterious, know that?" Satsuki damned her sensitivity and looked down, her raised shoulders acting like a protective blanket.

"Don't, don't cry." Riko's thumb pressed into Satsuki's bicep, her fingers loose around the other end of her arm. "Momoi—? Look; I'm not some Bosozoku wannabe or a Yakuza elitist. I'm just a short punk Japanese purebred who's staying in a small, cramped house with a crybaby of a dad. My mom got divorced with him and he's a wreck. So I took my college funds—whatever two cents we had—and decided to force him to get himself straight. Oh and no, we aren't poor, either. He just knows crap about investment, emotional and financial." When she finished she let out a breath and then looked away. "I forgot about the part where I say I'm a huge tit-obsessed lesbian who makes lewd comments to her friends to make them uncomfortable and to vent. I also lied about my name because I have trust issues. There."

By the end of the small introductory, Momoi was smiling at Riko, lips plump and cheeks red. "Oh, Aida-chan, I'm sorry. I guess this outbreak is because of my past experiences and meeting new people. I'm just a silly little girl trying to find purpose in being stuck in time with my weak grandparents. I should mention the part where I want your number and address, right?" Her eyelashes batted at Aida and she laughed. "Oh, you're so cute! Hey, did you come by sometimes because of your little crush? That's so sweet!" Momoi laughed louder and wiggled into Aida, "You really are cute, Ai-chan!"

"Ai-chan? What? No!" She hopelessly stuttered, "Look just give me your number before I say even dumber shit!"

Momoi giggled once more and she leaned into Riko, her voice slowly becoming quieter. "When I first came here, I thought I had nothing left anymore. I just, I felt like I threw everything. All my hard work and despite that I couldn't go back to Tokyo, to home, to family, to," she paused, "basketball. I felt like the opposite of evolution but I constantly got mad at myself when my grandparents were so weak and have done so much for me. Things happened and we invested in a corner store and I'd work there for about eight to five hours, depending on shift. I ended up meeting Yagumi-chan who was here because she didn't know how to interact with other human beings. We hate each other but we're both so isolated out here and. . ."

Taking a deep breath, Momoi faced Riko and looked her in the eye. "So then you came by with a motorcycle looking like a gang member, speaking so gruffly and I knew that I wanted you to whisk me away into the high hells and low heavens. I quickly regretted that decision because I was being so, gosh, thirsty! I got scared of your backstory. . . Ai-chan, I've seen my fair share of life and it really is depressing. So I'm just happy for some weird reason. Meeting you will change my life, but it won't drain me emotionally and that gives me some kind of happiness. . ."

Silence was ticking and Momoi swallowed and prayed to a deaf god that Riko wouldn't run away. She squeezed her hands together, sucked in her breath and—

Felt an arm wrap around her shoulders.

"You always seemed like the affectionate type," Riko noted, "Hey, Momoi-chan, you didn't think I'd just skip away, right? Well, I guess it makes sense you'd presume that but, don't worry, I don't want to hurt you." She squeezed Momoi's shoulder, in a strong, reassuring way that made Momoi want to cry because Riko was so real and that's the first time someone had said that to her.

Her heart twisted the entire journey back and when Riko dropped Satsuki off and smiled gently, Satsuki felt the strings in her heart rearrange and fix themselves.

Maybe, up until now, her life was just an endless search for finding a real home.

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Happy late New Years Sidra!!!!!!!!!! I hope u enjoy some tacky momoriko that took me 2000+ years to write bc I have no brain cells!!


End file.
